


Timelines Are For Suckers

by lillytriestowrite



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Canon Compliant, Episode: s07e19 Transition, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24094213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lillytriestowrite/pseuds/lillytriestowrite
Summary: Missing scene from "Transition." My idea of what lead to Josh and Donna getting on the plane.
Relationships: Josh Lyman & Donna Moss, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 4
Kudos: 93





	Timelines Are For Suckers

Josh sat at his desk, contemplating Sam’s ultimatum. What was with everyone and their ultimatums lately? Sam’s wasn’t the only one on his mind. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Donna had said that morning. It had been an amazing night and he hadn’t wanted to ruin the magic with all that serious life stuff; But she was right; they did need to figure out what this was before things got even crazier here. But his problem wasn’t figuring it out. He knew what he wanted this _thing_ to be, it was the putting it into words and saying it part that he couldn’t quite grasp. There’s a reason he’s a strategist and not a speechwriter. He’d never been good at these things. He was so busy cursing his emotional incompetency that he didn’t notice a familiar blonde head making it’s way toward his doorway.

“You okay in there, Lyman?

“Donna!” He stood up so quickly his chair shot across the room. He winced. _Smooth, Josh_ “Um, hi.” He ran a hand through his hair and tried to appear nonchalant, though he wasn’t sure why. He was well aware that she could see right through him. “Didn’t see you there.”

She cocked her head, looking amused. “Clearly. Well you seem to be contemplating something very important so I won’t keep you. I’m just on my way to see Mrs. Santos.” She took a deep breath and looked at the floor, suddenly nervous. “I’m gonna take the job.”

“That’s great, Donna.”

She looked relived. “You really think so?”

He hated that she thought he could ever possibly begrudge her this. She deserved it, and she was more than qualified “Of course. I’m proud of you, Donatella.”

“Thanks, Josh” They gazed at each other for a long moment. She knew if she let herself she could just stand there staring at him for hours, so she reluctantly turned and started to walk out of his office. The sound of his voice stopped her and she turned to face him again.

“And you were right before. About us working together, I mean. It would be a bad idea.”

She smirked. “Right. Well, I’ll see you later.”

“Donna, wait! I, um.” He wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with this but he knew he really didn’t want her to leave his office right now.

“What is it?“ She looked expectant. “Josh?”

“Look, there’s something I need to… I just wanted to, before you, ah.”

It seemed liked he wanted to say something serious, but she couldn’t keep the laughter out of her voice. It was just so hard not to be amused when he got all frazzled like this. “Okay, clearly you’re trying to tell me something here and I don’t mean to rush you, but I am about to go accept my dream job so if we could–”

“I love you.” It just burst out of him. It was almost involuntary. He still didn’t really know where he was going with this but he couldn’t stop talking now. He just had to hope his brain would catch up to his mouth eventually. “I’ve been in love with you for, god I don’t even know how long. Probably since you walked into my office and hired yourself, if I’m being honest. And I’m tired of hiding it. I’m tired of–” he stopped when she started sniffling. “Oh god, I’m so sorry Donna I didn’t mean to–”

She put up a hand to stop him. “They’re happy tears you idiot.” She shook her head disbelievingly. “And now you’ve gone and made me call you an idiot after you’ve said maybe the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

An expression that could only be described as a shit-eating grin slowly appeared on his face. “Most romantic thing you’ve ever heard, huh?” He walked towards her, his nervousness melting away. The way he was able to go from shy to swaggering in the blink of an eye was distinctly Josh, and also completely unfair, Donna thought.

“Shut up”

“Gladly. I’d love to hear more about how romantic you think I am.” Now he was smiling a real, genuine smile that went all the way to his eyes, something that had been an all too rare occurrence lately. It occurred to Donna that the power those dimples held over her was also unfair.

“You know what, I take it back, moment over,” but she was smiling while she said it. It was the kind of smile that warmed Josh from the inside out. It was at that moment his brain finally caught up to his mouth, and he knew exactly what to say.

“Let’s go to Hawaii.”

“Um.” She put a hand to his forehead in mock concern “Josh, are you feeling alright? Do I need to get Dr. Bartlet?” 

“I assure you, I’m perfectly fine.”

“I mean, really, you must be having some sort of episode–”

“Donna, I’m serious! We could both use a vacation. Besides, Sam wouldn’t agree to be my deputy unless I agreed to take one, and the President Elect has agreed to it, too. He practically offered to drive me to the airport. So what do you say? You. Me. Hawaii. 7 days.”

_Oh my god, he’s serious._ Her brain started going a mile a minute “I mean, of course I want to go to Hawaii. No one in their right mind would say no to Hawaii but… are you sure? I mean, I know I gave you a timeline but I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you with such a big step and there’s still so much to do here and–“

“Screw the timeline! Donna I don’t need four weeks to decide what I want from you!”

That stopped her. Since when was Josh Lyman ever sure of what he wanted? “Okay, so... what is it? That you want from me, I mean. Let’s hear it.”

“Donna, I just want you. All of you. Forever. Marriage, house, kids, maybe a dog,” he thought some more, “probably rocking chairs at some point. Whatever you wanna do. I’m all in.” She just stood there gaping at him for what felt like an eternity, and his confidence started to dissipate again, fearing he’d said too much too soon. He was about to open his mouth to try to salvage his remaining dignity, but he found he couldn’t speak because Donna was kissing him.

She pulled away before his brain had fully registered what was happening. Her eyes were wet but she was smiling. “I take it back. _That_ was the most romantic thing you’ve ever said.”

“So… I did good?” He looked a little dazed.

“Better than good. When do we leave?”

He thought for a moment, and then said something absolutely certifiable. “How’s tonight?”

“Tonight?”

He raised his eyebrows mischievously. “Tonight.”

“I mean, seriously, tonight?”

“Yes Donna, tonight.”

“Tonight, tonight?”

“Not at the rate this conversation is going.”

“Josh!”

“I mean, why not, right? We’re already doing something crazy.”

“You have a point but- oh my god.”

“What is it?”

“The job. I’m about to go tell Mrs. Santos I’ll be her Chief of Staff.”

“Great! You can do that while I book the plane tickets and the hotel.”

“Josh, be serious. I can’t just accept a job and then immediately leave for a whole week.”

“She can’t survive 7 more days without you? Trust me, when she finds out this means a whole week without me, she’ll pack your bags for you.”

“Well...” she thought for a minute, then seemed to make up her mind. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

Her face held an expression of complete resolve. “If you’re all in then so am I. Let’s do this.”

He wasn’t sure if he’d ever smiled wider in his entire life. “Have I told you that I love you?”

Her cheeks flushed, not used to this new openness between them. “You might have mentioned it.”

“Well, I’m just gonna keep mentioning it if that’s okay with you.”

“I think that would be acceptable. And Josh?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, too.”

Josh could have sworn his heart stopped beating for a moment. Of course he knew, but that was nothing compared to hearing her say it. He realized in that moment that as long as he could keep hearing her say that, everything would be okay. “See you on the plane?”

“See you on the plane.” Then she turned around and walked towards the office of the First Lady to be, feeling like something even more incredible than just her dream job was about to begin.


End file.
